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Topic: TARA 3 Ida & Tania (Malaysia) (Read 8786 times)

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, or make that a group of 13 females who were shortchanged. Such was the case that involved Malaysians Ida Nerina, 44, and her best friend Tania Khan, 36, in, of all places, a luxury resort! Throw in a hen's party, a burnt rug, hotel management and even the police and the mixture is a potent one that shows what these two will do to get what they deserve.

Recalls Ida, "All 13 of us were held hostage by the hotel who blamed us for a carpet burn that we did not cause. Even the police got involved. It was so traumatic."

The ladies insisted on their innocence but the hotel refused to let them leave and even locked the gates. "Due to the trauma, we caused a ruckus on the plane," adds Tania, a mother of an 11 year old daughter and a 10 month old baby, who despite her sheepishness at admitting the event, displays an inner strength. So just because there are now only two of them doesn't mean their combo is any less potent. If history is anything to go by, they are not pushovers simply because of their age or reputation.

On paper, they are two very different people  Ida is a homegrown actress with 16 movies under her belt, Ida is a media star compared her more corporate driven, property developer buddy. "We're both bubbly, dramatic, kind-hearted, fiercely loyal to our friends and klutzy. We're often the first to jump into the deep end of any adventure," describes Ida on their similarities.

"Tania and I just thought it would be fun to try out together too. Tania is so game for adventure and is always fun to be around and just as dramatic as I am," says Ida.

One thing they both hope to achieve, other than taking home the top prize, is the chance to see the world from a new perspective. Ida admits, "We've shared some great trips together and who better to see if you can backpack the world with as neither of us have ever done it (referring to backpacking)."

Viewers if not their fellow racers are in for surprises with Tania and Ida joining the race. These fans of The Amazing Race Asia have many natural talents they can count on to stay in the game. Tania comments of this, "I'm pretty good at finding handy short-cuts to all kinds of things. I'm very friendly which always helps in getting things done when you need help."

Hopefully, these attributes will make up for some of their shortfalls which includes indecisiveness on Tania's part, and weak ankles for Ida, which are not good for running she says jokingly.

Underneath the playful exterior though is a person who bears grudges more than she wants to, so the other teams better not cross Ida, less she unleashes her anger on them. "I'll scream my head off, then apologise to whoever's in the way."

Ida Nerina and Tania Khan embraced the motto of having fun and enjoying the race, which they really did.

It was the case of second-time lucky for friends and self-confessed The Amazing Race (TAR) fans Ida Nerina and Tania Khan.

“This was not the first time we applied. We actually tried out before but we did not make the cut,” says Ida, 44.

The 10 teams in The Amazing Race Asia 3 are in for the toughest race ever.

Tania, 36, adds: “Yes, the first time we applied, I was pregnant and I thought it would be OK because I would have delivered by the time the race started. But obviously the producers did not think so.”

Tania who is in property development is profiled as “the heiress” in the race while Ida is, naturally, “the actress” .

When they found out they made the cut this time, the duo were thrilled.

“We were completely stoked and really excited,” says Ida.

But they soon found out that the challenges of The Amazing Race Asia (TARA) begin way before the actual chase kicks off.

It wasn’t easy for Tania (left) and Ida to travel light for the Race.

“We were anxious about everything ... even about filling in the application forms. That proved to be a challenge too,” says Ida.

The next challenge they faced was cooking up stories to tell their families and friends to explain their month-long disappearance – one of the conditions of being on TARA is that you have to keep your participation a secret until the entire Race has been run.

“That was really hard ... maybe even harder than the race. I told everyone that I was going away for a property convention in London for a month,” says Tania.

“And I went to Europe,” interjects Ida.

Another challenge? Packing light especially since neither of the ladies have been backpacking, ever.

“Figuring out what to take with us was a challenge. For us, travelling means checked in luggage. We usually have people carrying our bags,” laughs Ida.

“Actually, I think we did pretty good. We got together (before leaving) and had our lists and ...,” says Tania.

“Yes, we were quite proud of ourselves ... until we saw the other teams’ bags! Some of them had such small bags!” exclaims Ida.

(Bernie Chan, from the other Malaysian team joked that when she opened Tania’s bag she found “a huge bag of sweets, a story book and a Hello magazine”!)

Nevertheless, as nonplussed as they may have been preparing for the Race, the duo feel they ran a good race and did themselves proud.

No, try as I did, they would not divulge any details about their performance on the Race, having signed an indemnity disclosure that would cost them millions of dollars if breached. Sigh.

“Really, our motto was to have fun and enjoy the race and we really did. We are quite funny actually and we had our moments. I think people will enjoy the Race with us,” says Tania.

“Of course we wanted to win ... otherwise why join, right? I don’t think there is a team who joins thinking they don’t want to win,” says Ida.

“Yeah, we wanted at least to be in the final three. And to finish all the challenges. But it was always one step at a time,” continues Tania.

Did they have a strategy on how they would run the race or attack the challenges?

“We had no strategy whatsoever,” says Tania.

“Well, we pretended to have a strategy. And then we would wait for the others and then we would figure it out,” says Ida with a laugh.

It is hard to tell if they are being totally serious. Having followed past seasons of both TAR and TARA (The Amazing Race Asia) closely, the two were more or less prepared to do the tough challenges that have become synonymous with TAR.

“We were very gung-ho. We were kind of ‘bring it on’, you know?” says Ida.

“I think if you are a fan of the Race you would vaguely know what to expect and we were ready for anything. But you don’t really know how tiring it is when you watch it on TV,

“If you ask me to name five places we went to ... I think I won’t be able to remember. On the race, we had no idea what day it was or what time it was or even what realm we were in. The only thing on our minds was finishing the challenges,” says Tania.

Though they are glad to be back (“I missed my bed and my pillow,” says Tania), the girls miss the “high” they got from being on the race.

“I miss the adrenaline rush and I miss the other racers and the whole experience, really,” says Ida.

“I miss starving and scrimping on a tight budget,” jokes Tania. “And I miss not having to reply e-mail and SMS-es. Actually, that was very liberating. It was a bit strange at first but it was nice.

the above video clips indicate why Ida and Tania are one of the 3 teams I prefer to see in the Final 3 of ARA3. They are delightful human beings. That can also be said of AD and Fuzzie, but probably not of Bernie and Henry, who are merely super-competitive. I hope all 3 teams go to the Finish Line still in this race.

Ida and Tania are greeted by host Allan Wu at the finishing line in Thailand.

IDA Nerina Hussein’s and Tania Khan’s idea of living life to the fullest is to go on an adventure that tests their limits but which allows them to have a great time as well.

“The last time I did something as challenging as this (The Amazing Race Asia 3, or Tara 3) was at the obstacle courses during my schooldays,” reminisced the 44-year-old Ida.

“Me too, but it was nothing compared to this,” said her sidekick Tania.

Award-winning actress Ida, known for the films Selubung, Layar Lara, Sarah, Sepet, Gubra and most recently Wayang, may soon see her career “hotter than ever”, despite not winning the recently concluded Tara 3.However, the duo who emerged third, insists that joining Tara 3 was a personal decision and had nothing to do with boosting her acting career.

“Tania and I have been best buddies for about a decade. I wouldn’t have gone on this adventure with anyone else for she’s a reliable travelling companion who loves challenges as much as me,” she said.

Tania, a 36-year-old manager and mother of two children aged 11 and one, said the key to their team spirit was “a common wavelength”.

She said: “We’re both bubbly, dramatic, kind-hearted, and fiercely loyal to our friends and klutzy.”

Ida added: “And we’re often the first to jump into the deep end of any adventure.”

Indeed, they are no strangers to “adventures” of another form.

Ida disclosed that she, Tania and 11 other close pals once unleashed their fury on the management of a luxury resort which “held them hostage” several holidays ago.

Ida recalled the incident saying, “hell hath no fury like 13 women shortchanged. The incident involved us, a burnt rug which was not our doing, the hotel management and the police.”

Tania added, “the hotel management blamed us and even the police got involved. It was so traumatic. We insisted we were innocent but they refused to let us leave and even locked the gates.”

The duo and their pals eventually cleared their names, but not after “causing a scene and creating ‘noise pollution’.”

Ida admitted that she can be the “lioness” that her Sarah co-star Shamsul Azhar (Shamsul Ghau Ghau) described her to be in the romantic comedy.

Underneath her playful exterior is someone who “bears grudges more than she wants to”.

“I pre-warned the other teams not to cross me lest I unleashed my anger on them. Unlike Tania, I’m the kind who screams my head off at the irritating and annoying.

“However, once the anger subsides, I’ll apologise to whoever’s in the way,” she said.

Preparing for Tara 3 meant lots of working out for the duo.

Ida said: “We got real physical at Celebrity Fitness and also did yoga. We had to hide it from our families but they soon found out what we were up to, and my mum freaked out.”

Nevertheless, Ida’s mother, businesswoman, lawyer and ex-politician Datuk Marina Yusoff gave her eldest child her full support, constantly sending her SMSes during the race.

“Determination and fighting spirit are qualities my mum and I share. Tara 3 is all about challenging your limits, not giving up and giving your all in a mission of self-discovery, and this is why she gave her blessings,” she said.

Tania said she found Tara 3 an excellent opportunity to travel around Asia, meet and learn about new people as well as keeping fit and strong.

“We just thought it would be a fun-filled adventure and I’m always game for adventure,” she said.

For both, the most difficult and challenging time was the first leg of the race which took them around Bangkok, Thailand. They had to drive an off-road buggy, pound rice into paste and made two rice balls using a traditional Thai method.

They also had to consume a large bowl of Thai “delicacies” — fried bugs, frogs and scorpions, and cleaned a 22-seater bus.

“Luckily, we conquered the first leg without much fuss and it was psychologically liberating,” said Tania.

“If we could make it past the first leg, we could make it past all the other legs. That was our fighting spirit,” said Ida.

Did the duo encounter moments in which they had heated arguments?

“There were times when we annoyed each other, but we are only human, and thus we were quick to forgive and forget,” said Ida.

She added that her main weaknesses were a fear of cockroaches and weak ankles which are “not good for running”.

“Mine are indecisiveness and claustrophobia,” said Tania.

On their strong points, Tania commends Ida for her great general knowledge while Ida commends Tania for being “pretty good at finding short cuts to all kinds of things”.

Even though Ida and Tania failed to take home the top prize of US$100,000 (RM360,000), they are happy to have done their best to put Malaysia on the map by finishing third, and displaying near-flawless teamwork and positivity on the camera.

Ida and Tania each won a Nokia N96 handphone for the fourth leg and US$2,500 for the 10th.

“Malaysian women have always come out tops, second or third place in Tara,” Ida said.

“And it’s not the same in every Tara season. Things get tougher by the year,” Tania said.

Ida said Tara 3 also gave them a chance to see the world from a new perspective.

“We’ve shared some great trips together and the race would be the best as it was our chance to go backpacking together,” she said.

Tania, who discovered that she was three months pregnant recently, said if they were to experience another adventure, it would be a non-competitive yet educational and entertaining travelogue.

"Our fans are pretty good. They don't give away too much. Sometimes people love dropping spoilers, but our fans are good. They tend to do it in such a way that doesn't ruin it for fans who don't want to know."--Phil Keoghan

Sending Ida lots of love and prayers for a full and complete recovery!

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"Our fans are pretty good. They don't give away too much. Sometimes people love dropping spoilers, but our fans are good. They tend to do it in such a way that doesn't ruin it for fans who don't want to know."--Phil Keoghan

Ida Nerina slipped and fell down a small flight of stairs at her apartment in Kuala Lumpur.

KUALA LUMPUR: Award-winning actress and The Amazing Race Asia 3 runner-up Ida Nerina Hussein is in stable condition after undergoing surgery for a back injury yesterday.

The 45-year-old actress' manager, Fizar Harun, said she had slipped and fallen down a small flight of stairs at her apartment in Taman Seputeh at 3.30am, and was sent by her husband Shaarin Razali to the Pantai Medical Centre for emergency treatment.

She was admitted to the University Malaya Medical Centre where she underwent an hour's surgery for a spinal fracture at 4am.

Her condition is reported to be stable.

Fizar said Ida, who had returned home after starring in the play The Good Body staged at the Sime Darby Convention Centre in Bukit Kiara here, tripped and landed on her back while coming down the steps.

"She is semi-conscious following the operation and her family members are by her side."

"Our fans are pretty good. They don't give away too much. Sometimes people love dropping spoilers, but our fans are good. They tend to do it in such a way that doesn't ruin it for fans who don't want to know."--Phil Keoghan